All That Rises

Horde Zone Review: Vashj'ir

Character: Layla du Lac, undead assassination rogue.
Level Span: 80-82
Theme: Sunken night elf city.

Vashj'ir was the first zone I played after installing Cataclysm and it was immediately jarring just how linear it was.  By only a few quests in I knew I had to be paying attention. The entrance quest to Vashj'ir involves getting on a mercenary ship and sailing under the command of Legionnaire Nazgrim into the Great Sea to lay claim to a piece of land raised by the cataclysm before the Alliance does. But as the ship nears the island, it is attacked and eventually wrecked by a sea monster called Ozumat and the ship's passengers are thrown overboard into waters teeming with naga. You are saved by a Broken shaman named Erunak Stonespeaker of the Earthen Ring, who bands you with Nazgrim and a handful of other survivors. What follows is a desperate battle for ground against the naga led by insidious sea witch Lady Naz'jar, as she attempts to lay siege to the Abyssal Maw, Neptulon's elemental realm of water.

Undersea zones have been talked about by fans for a while, and the developers were luckily mindful of all the potential problems such a zone would present. Early quests reward players with permanent zone-specific buffs that allow them increased speed and water breathing, and soon after, underwater mounts. While the steps taken to make the zone fun are great, the addition of a third axis can take some getting used to, and it was frequently difficult to tell how far my character was from her enemies. While this can be frustrating for any class it's particularly troublesome for a rogue, whose combat is so dependent on her position relative to her foes. It's easy, too, to not notice hostile units come up on you from either above or below, which can prove dangerous in crowded areas.

If you're sick of the naga, you're probably not going to like this zone, but if you're in the camp who liked the naga when they first appeared and don't think they've ever really gotten proper treatment then you'll like Vashj'ir, as it's all about the naga and is full of them. Peppered throughout are deep sea murlocs, gilblins - which are ocean-dwelling goblins (and are kinda stupid), and an array of underwater wildlife of surprising variety. The place looks pretty great, if a bit by the book - giant coral reefs, expansive ruins draped in seaweed and moss, as well as two huge stationary urchin-like creatures whom characters can travel inside.

The naga have gotten substantial attention at times before, none moreso than Zangarmarsh, but never with the same kind of attention to detail. It almost feels like Lady Vashj was wasted, as Lady Naz'jar has much more presence as a villain throughout, including a short (and pretty awesome) flashback questline explaining how she and her forces came to Vashj'ir and what they hope to do there. Although maybe she seems like a better character because Naz'jar seems to be doing a better job. The Horde forces fight a losing battle, and even though your character is victorious in her quests, they are small victories that only set Lady Naz'jar back, but not enough to thwart her. Eventually, in a climactic submarine battle, she is successful in breaching the Abyssal Maw, forcing a confrontation in the dungeon, the Throne of the Tides.

Legionnaire Nazgrim was a surprisingly good character considering he's pretty much just another grunt. Players may remember seeing him at Conquest Hold back in Grizzly Hills when he was just a sergeant - he gave a lot of the Voldrune quests. Though determined, he also sees the hopelessness of the situation and muses frequently in quest dialogue that he thinks this will end in failure. There is less to Erunak than Nazgrim, though Erunak plays a more important role throughout. Two other interesting characters are the undersea demigods, Nespirath and L'ghorek. These are giant immobile urchin-like creatures who Naz'jar is trying to corrupt to use against Neptulon, and the player attempts to free them. Despite resembling beings who might be affiliated with the Old Gods, Nespirath and L'ghorek are more benevolent entities. Though your interactions with them are limited, they are apparently a preview to a similar third creature who is to be a boss battle in a later dungeon in the Abyssal Maw.

Dungeon: Throne of the Tides

The action of Vashj'ir culminates in a battle to secure the entrance to the Abyssal Maw, which the naga win. Just as the characters are about to regroup, the leviathan Ozumat grabs Erunak with its tentacle and pulls him in. Nazgrim follows in the hopes of saving him. Nazgrim is then found just inside the dungeon entrance and commands you to find Erunak and free him, and kill Lady Naz'jar.

The dungeon is engaging enough. Aside from Commander Ulthok the bosses are all significant characters from the Vashj'ir storyline, and the fights are generally straightforward but demanding - you can learn the mechanics with ease but you need to be paying attention. All round, the dungeon serves as a good conclusion to Vashj'ir. The only problem I had with it is that the final battle with Ozumat is disappointingly easy - you find Neptulon under attack by Ozumat and must protect him from waves of murlocs and faceless, after which Neptulon gives the party a buff that makes them all but invincible, at which point you turn on Ozumat. You can lose key members of your party to the waves and still survive the fight with Ozumat, and as a rogue, it's impossible to attack Ozumat from behind, so you can't employ your more devastating strategies on it. But at least it's a fight with a lot of weight to it lore-wise, and Neptulon's involvement makes it epic enough in the greater scope of the Vashj'ir story.